Warrior Theology

War seems to be innate to the human condition, the evidence for such reaching back through history to the "initial conflict" between Cain and Abel (Genesis 4). Many historians, academics, authors, and indeed the distinctive class of military men and women, often understand war to be a result of human evolution and unlikely to change across time and cultures. This is very much in line with the conclusion of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus that "War is the father of all," arising from his belief that permanence is an illusion with everything experiencing a process of perpetual change, the only constant being war, of course.
     Although Heraclitus' statement works as a truism it remains flawed, for if war is the father of all and is the only immutable certainty of human existence then war is effectually God. This may appear overly exacting but my intent is to illustrate that if we desire to cross-examine the matter of war then we must view it within the context of cause and effect rather than edifying it to a place of worship.
     The ancient Spartans forged a warrior culture into a warrior society. They became the best at warcraft on all levels, particularly at the individual level. They made war their God, despite the fact that they appealed to specific gods. And while there is much to be echoed individually from the ancient warrior ethos, particularly regarding the Spartans, it is folly to elevate the warrior ethos and war itself in such a way as to assert that pursuit and/or cognizant mastery of such may impart some measure of personal glory for the sake of glory alone. This, in fact, is the aspiration for many modern war scholars and theorists who fall to the alluring vanity of ancient Greek philosophy, thus surrendering to the deficient materialistic/naturalistic worldview of the classics.

The Origin of Sin is the Dawn of War

Adjusting our "war lens" toward the history before the initial conflict between Cain and Abel and considering the context of cause and effect, we find a cause for the brothers' conflict predating even themselves. The Biblical record reveals that the Creator God created all things with the pinnacle of His creation being humanity (Adam and Eve), formed for the sole purpose of enjoying fellowship and sharing in His Love. Despite being placed in a floral and faunal paradise, the First Couple faced a testing of their intuition, loyalty, and obedience when God told them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2). This gift of free human choice, i.e. human responsibility, was/is necessary for true reciprocal love relationships to develop, for otherwise humanity could argue a circumstance of being fashioned automatons absent of real "choice." Herein, love relationships are only genuine when the parties involved, out of love, choose to be involved. There is a risk, however, for true freedom also allows rejection. Although, rejection and rebellion fundamentally act as the foil that proves the merit of right choices.
     We find in Job 38:4-7 that God created the angels prior to creating the earth; moreover, the infamous third of the angels had not yet rebelled when Adam and Eve arrived on the scene at the apex of Creation Week, for God said that everything He had made was "very good" (Genesis 1:31). This, then, begs the question of rebellion, the root of war.
     It is evident that upon creating the angels God endowed them, too, with a choice, to serve Him or not to serve Him. And though we have less specifics concerning the angels' "test" of loyalty, by employing logic through deductive reasoning we see a probable catalyst for Lucifer's defiance which ultimately infected a third of the angelic host: Isaiah 14:12-15 exhibits (by historical parallel) both the king of Babylon and Lucifer following identical mental/emotional paths in reasoning out their rebellion, but whereas Babylon's king fell to human pride and want of power, Lucifer perhaps fell to want of power (to rule a newly created earth) augmented by an envy borne of witnessing the unique relationship/intimacy between God and Adam and Eve. Omnisciently reading Lucifer's heart (as well as other rebellious angels' hearts), their Creator cast them from Heaven before an insurrection could manifest.[1] Needless to say, God was not truly threatened but His justness demands Justice.
     In tempting Eve, likely perceived as more fragile than the man, and purposing to corrupt God's newest and most cherished creation, Lucifer began to war against God by proxy, using every tactic permissible, for God's Sovereignty entails particular rules of engagement (Genesis 3:15; Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). Succumbing to Lucifer's guile, Eve ate the forbidden fruit, as did Adam, thus failing in his leadership and bringing upon humanity the Curse of a broken world and a riven relationship with our Creator God (Genesis 3). After being excommunicated from Edenic Paradise, Adam and Eve began to be fruitful and thus multiplied, though their progeny were born into a cursed world whilst inheriting a sin-nature that seeks to devour and could only be forestalled by embracing the faith-based ethic exemplified by the First Couple (Genesis 4:1-7).
     In this we see that war/conflict did not originate as a human enterprise, but as a consequence of the original rebellion in Lucifer's heart, which God allowed to magnify the testing of humanity's obedience by way of Lucifer's aggravation of the same. Thus, war was borne of an angel's recalcitrant ambition. And to answer those who might inquire as to why (or how) a good and perfect God would (or could) permit the entrance of evil into His perfect creation, I offer that which I have written elsewhere: Allowing angels and humanity to freely determine their own (individual) destiny is a product of God's Love and in that God made evil possible, it is our (wrong) choices that make it actual.[2]

The War Within

Upon realizing that war and conflict are the universal effect of a broken relationship between God and humanity, one is better prepared to glean the practical (and spiritual) lessons from classical and Biblical history. Examining these "lessons" in their proper context aids the individual in building genuine personal identity and integrity and fortifies against empty vainglorious emulation of an Achilles complex. An occasion from the life of Alexander the Great serves to illustrate nicely:

While on campaign in India, Alexander and a party of his men encountered some gymnosophists, or "naked wise men," sitting in meditation near the bank of the Indus River. Alexander's company was pushing through the crowded thoroughfare, with everyone yielding to them except the gymnosophists. A young lieutenant of Alexander's proceeded to chase the holy men out of the king's path, but when one of them resisted he received heavy verbal assault from the officer. When Alexander approached, the lieutenant indicated the king and said to the yogi, "This man has conquered the world! What have you accomplished?"
The yogi opened his eyes and calmly replied, "I have conquered the need to conquer the world." At this, Alexander laughed with delight. He admired the naked wise man, and with approval he said, "Could I be any man in the world other than myself, I would be this man here." [3]

Alexander realized that despite his own youth, bravado, and tremendous accomplishments as a warrior from the external perspective, it was victory over the inner battles that forged one into a true warrior- one who sought peace and brotherhood first with oneself, and then with all.
     In Romans 7:7-25 the apostle Paul explains the root of war within us, showing that fallen humanity's sin-nature is in conflict with humanity's spirit-nature: For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil that I will not to do, that I practice... But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members (v19, 23).
     What, then, is to be done? Can we overcome or escape this inner war? In both anguish and thanksgiving Paul cries out to the only One Who offers a battle plan and supernatural strength to overcome: O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God- through Jesus Christ our Lord! (v24-25)
     Then he articulates how Christ's Victory was won in saying, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Rom. 8:1-4).
     Thus, just as Alexander had a revelation of truly stabilizing character integrity and wisdom (i.e. Christlikeness), and desired to emulate the gymnosophist, we now have Jesus Christ Himself to mirror as we, as did Paul, recognize Christ's full Identity allowing for a personal spiritual application unavailable to Alexander, for we are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in us... and if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, He will also give life to our mortal bodies through His Spirit (8:9, 11).

Achieving Spiritual Balance

Intimacy with God is only reached through communication with Him and He with us, such being prayer and reading of Scripture. A study of Proverbs 1-3, John 17, 2 Timothy 2, and consideration of Psalm 46:10 will assist abundantly toward finding personal peace and purpose on all levels.
     Most of us, of course, understand that maturing spiritually implies sustained discipline, and most of us also understand that this is where our individual choice and perseverance are sorely tested. Regarding prayer, Bible study, discipling others, and additional protocol, we genuinely desire to do what is required to "walk in the Spirit" but the actual doing is difficult (by design) so we give up, put off, and/or secretly hope that our noble intent somehow excuses us from the necessary obedience. But spiritual discipline is no different than educational or physical discipline in that time, steps, and progressive experience are constituents of the learning and growing process. Recall that Jesus said to the faithful servant "Well done," not "Well thought" or "Well intended" (Matt. 25:23).
     Casting down ideas that suggest spiritual balance an impossibility, thus feeding spiritual laziness, I contend that with perfection being the impossibility it is thus our humility, genuineness, fortitude, and gratitude concerning personal salvation through Jesus Christ that drives our endeavor toward perfection nonetheless.
     Though our souls are entrenched in a war between the flesh and spirit, let us surrender to Christ, practice the art of prayer, and find His power to overcome the flesh. And as Paul instructs us, let us then put on the armour of God and take up the sword of the Spirit (God's Word) daily, for He will not make us mighty warriors for the Kingdom if we shy away from Him testing our skills in battle (Ephesians 6:10-20).
     As alluded to above, growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18) first requires discipline. The next requisite is an awareness that such growth is an everlasting process that shall continue long after death or rapture as one enters into the blessed state of perpetual perfection and eternal fellowship with our Creator and Savior. However, our current earthly context is vital and thus most urgent in that it is our present charge to reveal Christ's Light to a dark world, and we cannot accomplish this if we are not single-mindedly purposeful in our missional strivings to prevail over darkness and be the Light-bearers we are expected to be.
     Paul bids us: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). At this our flesh may bellow, "True, but not practical and not likely!" Meanwhile, our spirit languishes even in acknowledging the truth of Paul's exhortation... because we choose to feed our flesh more than our spirit. How, then, do we walk in the Spirit? Jesus offers another profoundly simple solution that too many reject for its simplicity: You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind... and you shall love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:37-40). Pursuing these greatest of the commandments will safeguard one from yielding to the lust of the flesh. If you do not understand the gravity of this, I advise you to contemplate it until you do, even asking God Himself to explicitly uncloak any residual mystery.
     Upon grasping the appeals of both Christ and Paul one will be well prepared for the life seasons of cultivation that follow, wherein Christ works out the bearing of the fruit of His Spirit in one's life: love, joy, peace, patience (or longsuffering), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These "fruit" are listed in Galatians 5:22-23 and are each one worthy of serious regard along with a reading of Galatians 6:6-10.

The Will to Victory

Simplicity in Christ is surely achievable (2 Cor. 11:3), though human reason often complicates that which must be left to faith. But when faith leads reason there is more reason to have greater faith, for though faith is evidence of things not seen, more of God is revealed to those who pursue more of God (Hebrews 11:1; Jeremiah 33:3).
     Within us all there is a will to fight. And though this at times manifests negatively, I believe the root of this "will to fight" rests in a deeply planted desire to vanquish darkness and regain the Paradise lost in Eden. A shadow of humanity's failure resides in each of us and condemns us... but... Jesus Christ won the Victory that we could not win for ourselves and He invites us to partake of this Victory, urging us to resist the enemy in their throes of defeat. And in so doing, our inner warrior can be unleashed in proper context, granting for rightly principled leadership to develop and inspire men to be greater than they are.
     Another chapter from ancient history offers astute insight as we see how the brilliant Theban general, Epaminondas, was the first to beat the Spartans... at the battle of Leuctra in BC 371:

The evening before the fight, Epaminondas called his warriors together and declared that he could guarantee victory on the morrow if his men would vow to perform one feat at the moment he commanded it. The men, of course, responded aye. "What do you wish us to do?" "When I sound the trumpet," said Epaminondas, "I want you to give me one more foot. Do you understand? Push the enemy back just one foot." The men swore they would do this.
Battle came. The armies clashed and locked up, shield against shield, each side straining to overcome the other. Epaminondas watched and waited until he judged both armies had reached the extremity of exhaustion. Then he ordered the trumpet sounded. The warriors of Thebes, remembering their promise, summoned their final reserves of strength and pushed the foe back only one foot. This was enough. The Spartan line broke. A rout ensued. [4]

In trusting their general's wisdom and confidence toward victory, the Theban army faithfully anticipated the signal to push forward just one more foot. The anticipation generated mental toughness that manifested through physical grit which enabled ultimate victory. Epaminondas beat the Spartans at their own game by defeating them on the battlefield of the mind prior to the physical battle.
     From whence comes such faithful anticipation? Just as the prophets of old received their calling and commissioning directly from the LORD Himself, and just as the Twelve apostles and Paul also received their calling and commissioning directly from the LORD Himself, so likewise we receive the same directly from the LORD Himself. For those who struggle to work out the how of this, the answer here is also simple: Prayer. Only in the untarnished and intimate presence of Jesus can one verily accept His commissioning, equipping, and sending out.
     Yet, an insufferable number of "spiritual leaders" are "called" and "sent out" on assumption and self-ambition, and often well before they are spiritually, mentally, and emotionally mature enough to bear the burdens of particular offices, including the default "authority" that may come with new (premature) positions. Additionally, a prevalent mistake made is that of inferring the same approach to spiritual leadership and ministry development as one would to vocational leadership and business/commercial development. This strategy wreaks havoc on the Church (subtly and blatantly) because individuals suffer hurt and neglect at the expense of those "climbing the spiritual ladder."
     Again referencing Epaminondas' defeat of the Spartans, we are emboldened to crush underfoot the spiritual enemy on the spiritual and mental battlefields which will result in victory over the flesh that wars against our spirit. In purposefully turning to Scripture we learn the enemy's tactics and discover our place in claiming and walking in Christ's Victory. In tenaciously and humbly turning to Christ in earnest prayer we receive discernment, resilience, composure, and the power to actually walk in His Victory in that we faithfully anticipate His empowerment and are able to push just one more foot in our personal battles... whereupon the enemy breaks and scatters!

An Absence of Prayer is an Absence of Power

The apostle Paul counseled the church in Thessalonica to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). Nineteenth century preacher Charles Spurgeon later elaborated on Paul's counsel in majestic fashion:
Like the old knights, always in warfare, not always on their steeds dashing forward with their lances in rest to unhorse an adversary, but always wearing their weapons where they could readily reach them, and always ready to encounter wounds or death for the sake of the cause which they championed. Those grim warriors often slept in their armour; so even when we sleep, we are still to be in the spirit of prayer, so that if perchance we wake in the night, we may still be with God.[5]
Let us, then, not lean on our own understanding and intuition but rather enable that of our soon-returning King to lead us into those battles that we must fight, and avoid those that we wrongly suppose we should fight.



Notes:
 
1. The war in heaven of Revelation 12:7-12 is not a past event that many reckon describes the initial rebellion and casting out of Lucifer and company, though the passage does recall that tragedy; it is, rather, a future event and fulfillment of Daniel 12:1-4, the context being the "time of Jacob's trouble," i.e. last days judgment of Israel and the world. Moreover, this war results in Satan and his angels losing their "place" in heaven, or their "privilege" concerning access to Almighty God purposing to "accuse the brethren," said "accusations" remaining an historical and present reality as Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-7 show, which could not occur had this privilege been barred prior to the tempting of Eve.
2. Jon Scott Birch, The Morning Star & The Melon, Signet Ring Publishing, 2016, p6.
3. Plutarch, Life of Alexander; Steven Pressfield, The Virtues of War, Doubleday, 2004, p306.
4. Steven Pressfield, The Warrior Ethos, Black Irish Ent., 2011, p58-59.
5. Steve Miller, C.H. Spurgeon on Spiritual Leadership, Moody Publishers, 2003, p16.

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